Water Quality Legend

Current Status

Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

Historical Status

When swimming season is over or when a beach's water quality data has not been updated frequently enough (weekly) it goes into historical status. This means that rather than displaying current data it displays the beach's average water quality for that year.

Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

Special Status

We may manually set the status for a specific beach if we have concerns about the sampling protocol, if there is an emergency, if monitoring practices don't exist or have recently changed, or other reasons that render this site "special."

Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.

See the beach description for more information regarding their special status.

Calumet Beach

Calumet Beach is a part of Calumet Park on Chicago's south shore of Lake Michigan. There is a parking lot available, and the beach is wheelchair accessible. There is also a concession stand and public washrooms. There is an area for distance swimming at the south end of the beach. The Indiana/Illinois state border is just offshore. The red and white striped stacks beside the beach are part of a power generating plant.

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WATER QUALITY

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time

Historical Status

This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 3rd, 2018. Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

Chicago Park District monitors beaches daily from May 27 to September 5. When sample results are reported on the County's website, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates Swim Guide.

Recreational public beaches in Illinois are tested at least once every week, typically from May to September. In popular beach areas such as Chicago, beaches are tested five times per week or even daily.

New to 2017, The Chicago Park District Department of Cultural and Natural Resources (DCNR) will be testing for Enterococci instead of culturing live E. coli bacteria cells. Doing so allows for quicker results: DCNR are able to get water quality results back within 3-4 hours instead of the typical 18-24 hours. DCNR then posts same day results for people to see.

In the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency has two sets of recommendations for freshwater and marine beaches. A single sample at a freshwater beach should not exceed 235 E. coli / 100 ml of water. A single sample at a marine beach should not exceed 104 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a freshwater beach should not exceed 126 E. coli / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a marine beach should not exceed 35 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. States may choose to use this standard or they may substitute a standard that is "as protective as" the EPA's recommendation. The Beach Act is the nation's primary beach protection law.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

CHART TYPE

Pie Bar

INTERVAL

TIME PERIOD

Calumet Beach

This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 3rd, 2018. Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

CURRENT WEATHER

2°C

Clear

Calumet Beach is a part of Calumet Park on Chicago's south shore of Lake Michigan. There is a parking lot available, and the beach is wheelchair accessible. There is also a concession stand and public washrooms. There is an area for distance swimming at the south end of the beach. The Indiana/Illinois state border is just offshore. The red and white striped stacks beside the beach are part of a power generating plant.

Chicago Park District monitors beaches daily from May 27 to September 5. When sample results are reported on the County's website, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates Swim Guide.

Recreational public beaches in Illinois are tested at least once every week, typically from May to September. In popular beach areas such as Chicago, beaches are tested five times per week or even daily.

New to 2017, The Chicago Park District Department of Cultural and Natural Resources (DCNR) will be testing for Enterococci instead of culturing live E. coli bacteria cells. Doing so allows for quicker results: DCNR are able to get water quality results back within 3-4 hours instead of the typical 18-24 hours. DCNR then posts same day results for people to see.

In the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency has two sets of recommendations for freshwater and marine beaches. A single sample at a freshwater beach should not exceed 235 E. coli / 100 ml of water. A single sample at a marine beach should not exceed 104 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a freshwater beach should not exceed 126 E. coli / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a marine beach should not exceed 35 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. States may choose to use this standard or they may substitute a standard that is "as protective as" the EPA's recommendation. The Beach Act is the nation's primary beach protection law.

Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.
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